On Creating Cool Real-Time 3D
By Jeff Lander Gamasutra October 17, 1997 Vol. 1: Issue 8 On Creating Cool Real Time 3D  Page 1  Page 2  Page 3 Page 4	Who doesn't love a game that incorporates cool real-time 3D characters? You do, right? Everyone wants the most amazing characters possible for their game. So why doesn't everyone have them? Because, it's not that easy. There are so many options available for the artist and programmer that it can be truly overwhelming. On that account, here is a guide to help you plow through these choices. Now as far as which decisions you should make, well that really is up to your production team. I assure you that while the information included is not all-encompassing, you will be able to make well-educated decisions. There is no definitive "right" answer because so much depends upon budget, time, manpower, target platform etc. But, do allow me to step on my soapbox for my two cent(ence)s worth. Early planning must be done! These decisions need to be carried through the entire production because once you head down any of the paths, the time and money spent to change is most likely just not worth it. (Yeah, so I do preach a bit.) Mesh construction techniques: The first and largest fork in the road comes early on. How am I going to handle the character mesh? While there are many ways of designing 3D real-time character engines, the character meshes themselves are usually one of two types: a hierarchy of separate objects single mesh characters
	Hierarchy of Separate Objects